Thursday, September 18, 2008

Lydialyle Gibson in the University of Chicago magazine, July/August 2008, on Tanya Menon,

A behavioral scientist who studies organizational culture and decision-making patterns, Menon has spent more than a decade analyzing how businesses and businesspeople assess new ideas and why they often fail to grasp the value of innovations developed within their own ranks.

The article reviews several examples in support of an explanation.

“Organizations have a difficult task in finding out what’s a good idea or a bad idea, and they use all kinds of shortcuts,” Menon says. “But outsiders’ opinions are the shortcuts you use to identify what’s a good idea, you lose your ability to internally generate innovation. ..."